American Jim Arrington, 90, has spent decades sculpting his body.
The retired sales professional and great-grandfather first entered the Guinness World Records books as the world’s oldest bodybuilder in 2015, at the age of 83.
Now, at 90 years old, Jim is still going strong and continues to win bodybuilding competitions.
As reported by the official website of Guinness World Records, Jim recently competed in an IFBB Professional League event in Reno, Nevada, placing third in the Men Over 70 category and first in the Men Over 80 category.
Without a doubt, Jim has an incredible physique (which he proudly displayed when he posed nude for Men’s Health last year), But it was not always like this.
He was born a month and a half prematurely, weighing only 5.5 pounds (2.5 kg). Jim says his parents “fought and fought” to save him.
In addition to being asthmatic, as a child he was “very unhealthy” and frequently ill.
However, in 1947, at the age of 15, Jim decided he “couldn’t do that anymore” and started lifting weights.
“I wanted to be a superhero,” Jim recalls.
More than seven decades later, weightlifting remains the greatest passion in Jim’s life. He goes to the gym three times a week, and each session lasts two hours.
The secret to Jim’s longevity is his ability to adapt. And he hasn’t just adapted his workouts as he’s gotten older; he has also adapted his diet.
Jim used to eat “a lot of milk and a lot of beef” because those were two foods he wasn’t allergic to, however they started to cause inflammation as he got older, so he decided to change his diet “completely”.
Nowadays he consumes more olive oil, mushrooms and other equally healthy products.
Having been a bodybuilder for over 50 years, Jim has competed in many shows, including “20 Or So” at California’s famous Muscle Beach.
Jim says that being a Guinness World Records title holder has “opened up a whole new universe for him” and inspires him to keep going.
“I have enjoyed it a lot. I would say that I think everyone should be, but only a few can do it.”